Erosion & sedimention control |
The speedbump-shaped structure sits on the riverbed and captures sediment as it travels over it and into a trough where it is then pumped out of the river and captured in dewatering bags or large sediment management areas. The bedload collector method is one of many management methods being considered for Lewis and Clark Lake. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Missouri Sedimentation Action Coalition hope to publish the Lewis and Clark Lake Sediment Management Plan in the next two years. The plan will include an engineering analysis on the various methods and recommend those that offer the greatest benefits at the lowest costs and with the least environmental impacts.
Overall, engineers consider the equipment and test as being highly successful.
“Under these conditions, the collector was effective, we’re very happy with the results,” said Paul Boyd,
hydraulic engineer at the Omaha District of the Army Corps of Engineers. “We’re pulling a lot of sand out of the river.”
Now, Boyd said the challenge is finding a use for the sediment that will offset the cost of removal. He says construction projects could be a potential option. “Our long-term goal is to try and reduce the cost of harvesting and increase the beneficial use or the value of the sediment – we hope to kind of flip that paradigm and make it cost effective to move sediment” he added. The ERDC has been researching bedload sediment collection in support of river navigation for more than a decade. Recently, the centre expanded its research to address reservoir sedimentation issues in collaboration with Army Corps districts like Omaha. They are also conducting research with the St. Paul District for reservoir sustainability. “We were able to fund the work because of the strong partnership with the Missouri Sediment Action
Right: An overhead view of the Niobrara River bedload sediment collector pilot project in Nebraska, US during September 2024. Engineers participating in the project tested a bedload sediment collector to determine how much sediment could be captured from the river before it reaches the Lewis and Clark Lake delta (US Army Corps of Engineers photo by Nicholas Harnack)
34 | April 2025 |
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